Antonin Scalia Law School

The Antonin Scalia Law School (formerly the George Mason University School of Law[2]) is the law school of George Mason University, a public research university in Virginia. It is located in Arlington, Virginia, roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Washington, D.C., and 15 miles (24 km) east-northeast of George Mason University's main campus in Fairfax, Virginia.

Antonin Scalia Law School
Antonin Scalia Law School (2022)
Parent schoolGeorge Mason University
EstablishedDecember 2, 1979 (1979-12-02)
School typePublic law school
DeanKen Randall
LocationArlington, Virginia, United States
38°53′06″N 77°06′01″W
Enrollment484 (2020)
USNWR ranking32nd (2023)[1]
Websitelaw.gmu.edu
ABA profileABA Profile

[3] In 2021, the school had 604 students in its J.D., JD/MBA, and JD/MPP programs and 187 students in its LL.M. and J.M. programs.[4] The median LSAT score among incoming J.D. students in 2023 was 168, and the median GPA was 3.89.[5] The passage rate for first-time takers of the Virginia bar exam in July 2021 was 92%, second among Virginia's eight law schools.[6]

The law school is known for its conservative ideological leaning in law and economics.[7][8]

History

George Mason University School of Law was authorized by the Virginia General Assembly in March 1979 and was founded on July 1, 1979. The school started as the International School of Law (ISL), which opened in 1972 in a classroom at the Federal Bar Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.[9][10] In 1973, it moved into the home of former United States Chief Justice Edward Douglass White on Rhode Island Avenue, and in 1975 purchased the old Kann's Department Store in Arlington. Despite the growth, ISL could never obtain accreditation. In 1976, it discussed a merger with George Mason University, which expressed interest in setting up a law school.[11] In 1978, the Virginia State Council of Education denied GMU's proposal to start a law school and encouraged a merger with ISL instead.[12] Later that year, the Council advised against allowing that merger, but the Virginia state legislature nonetheless approved the merger in early March 1979.[13][14]

The school became fully accredited by the American Bar Association in 1986, but was still not widely known during the late 1980s.[15] Since then, however, its rankings have risen rapidly, from 45th in 2020 to 30th in 2023.[16]

In 2016, the school received $30 million to rename itself for Antonin Scalia, the late United States Supreme Court justice. The Charles Koch Foundation provided $10 million of the donation, with the remaining $20 million coming from an anonymous donor.[17] On March 31, Mason's Board of Visitors approved the renaming. School officials soon announced a new name: Antonin Scalia Law School,[18] a decision ratified by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia on May 17.[19][20] In 2022, ProPublica reported that the anonymous donor was allegedly Barre Seid, a businessman and philanthropist known for his donations to conservative causes.[21]

Rankings

U.S. News & World Report ranks the George Mason University School of Law (Scalia) at 32nd in the United States.[22]

Tuition

The total cost of attendance (tuition, fees, and living expenses) for the 2022–23 academic year at Mason Law is $54,819 for in-state students attending full-time; the total cost of attendance for non-resident students attending full-time is $70,667.[23]

Journals

Student-edited
  • George Mason Law Review[24](ISSN 1088-5625)
  • George Mason Civil Rights Law Journal[25] (ISSN 1049-4766)
  • George Mason International Law Journal [26]
  • National Security Law Journal [27] (ISSN 2373-8464)
  • The Journal of Law, Economics & Policy[28] (ISSN 1553-4367)

Other

Law library

The George Mason Law Library has a collection of electronic and print materials providing access to legal treatises, journals, and databases. Non-legal materials are available through the GMU University Libraries. It is a selective depository for U.S. Government documents, and it provides inter-library lending services with other academic libraries,[29] which enables students and faculty to borrow materials from major academic libraries. The library occupies four levels of the law school building. It has 14 study rooms, 70 carrel seats, and 196 table seats wired with electrical and network connections, and a wireless network is available. The library also operates two computer labs with a variety of software.[30] The library employs 16 full-time staff members, including 6 librarians with degrees in law and library science and 3 technology specialists.[31] Access is limited to university faculty, students, staff, alumni and members of the bar.[32]

Academic climate

Antonin Scalia Law School has a reputation for tilting towards conservative principles, a perception that increased with the renaming in 2016 for the originalist Scalia.[7][8] The donation was conditioned on a requirement that the donor be notified of any change in the law school's leadership.[33] In 2019, the law school received a gift of $50 million, the largest ever received by the university, from the estate of Allison and Dorothy Rouse to "fund a chair or chairs that will promote the conservative principles of governance, statesmanship, high morals, civil and religious freedom and the study of the United States Constitution".[8] George Mason University's law school was briefly named the Antonin Scalia School of Law. Following the realization that this would lead to a vulgar acronym ("ASSLaw", or alternatively the similarly vulgar "ASSoL"), the school was quickly renamed to the Antonin Scalia Law School.[34]

A 2023 New York Times report detailed the school's effort to cultivate ties to the Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices.[35]

Law school’s alleged conservative political leanings and its influence over the federal judiciary

The naming of the Antonin Scalia Law School after the late conservative United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the hiring of conservative United States Supreme Court Justices Bret Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas as professors, the allegedly “lavish treatments,” speaking gigs, and "all-experiences-paid" travel arrangements they received, its close ties with the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, and the extensive provision of professional development and continuing education programs, as well as speaking engagements for sitting judges of lower and appellate divisions - in particular dealing with the topic of law and economics - has brought on controversy on the university itself, the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Federal Judiciary of the United States as a whole over the overt conservative political influence taking place at the law school and the university’s growing influence over the U.S. judicial system. The law school had also received some controversy due to its relationship with the overtly libertarian university-affiliated Mercatus Center[36][37] think tank which is known to have received donations from a conservative political donor group known as The 85 Fund-Judicial Education Project headed by conservative legal activist Leonard Leo.[38] Some have even started regarding George Mason University as the “Yale [University] or Harvard [University] of conservative legal scholarship and influence”[39][40] due to this phenomenon.[41] [40][42]

National Security Institute

The law school is also home to the National Security Institute, a think tank dedicated to research in national security, especially legal issues pertaining to national security.[43]

Global Antitrust Institute

Antonin Scalia Law School also houses the Global Antitrust Institute (GAI), a think tank mainly concerned with antitrust and competition policy.[44] In 2021, Bloomberg reported on the "revolving door" between members of the GAI's faculty who later held positions at the Federal Trade Commission, a government agency tasked with regulating many of the companies that make significant donations to the GAI and the law school at large.[45][46][47]

Notable people

Alumni
  • Jonathan H. Adler, American legal commentator and law professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law
  • John Bartrum, American lawyer and colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve
  • Robert Bixby, Executive Director of the Concord Coalition
  • Martha Boneta, American policy advisor, commentator, and farmer known for her role in the passage of a landmark right-to-farm law in Virginia
  • Anna Escobedo Cabral, Treasurer of the United States under President George W. Bush
  • Michael F. Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute
  • James W. Carroll, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Donald Trump
  • Kathleen L. Casey, Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
  • Rabia Chaudry, Pakistani-American attorney, author, and podcast host; founder and president of the Safe Nation Collaborative
  • John Critzos II, American martial arts fighter and instructor teaching martial arts at the United States Naval Academy and personal injury lawyer
  • Katherine A. Crytzer, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
  • Ken Cuccinelli, Acting United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, 46th Attorney General of Virginia, a former member of the Virginia Senate from the 37th district
  • William W. Eldridge IV, American General District Court Judge for the 26th Judicial District of Virginia
  • David Jolly, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives
  • Colleen Kiko, chairman of the United States Federal Labor Relations Authority under Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden
  • Chris Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency under President Donald Trump
  • Robert A. Levy, chairman of the Cato Institute and director of the Institute of Justice
  • Melissa A. Long, Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
  • William W. Mercer, United States Associate Attorney General under President George W. Bush and member of the Montana House of Representatives
  • Kendrick Moxon, lead counsel for the Church of Scientology
  • Paul F. Nichols, former delegate to the Virginia General Assembly
  • Liam O'Grady, judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
  • Maureen Ohlhausen, former commissioner of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission
  • Paul S. Phillips, a mystery novelist who writes under the pen name of James Chandler
  • Scott Pinsker, American filmmaker, talk-show host, author, and celebrity publicist
  • David J. Porter, judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president under President Joe Biden
  • Wesley G. Russell Jr., Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia
  • Harlan M. Sands, 7th President of Cleveland State University
  • Charles Stimson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs under President George W. Bush
  • Glen Sturtevant, member of the Senate of Virginia from 2016-2020
  • Mary Kirtley Waters, Director of the United Nations Information Centre
  • John Whitbeck, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia from 2015-2018
  • Mark Willis, American businessman, politician, and former United States Army counterintelligence agent
  • Richard L. Young, judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

Faculty
  • David Bernstein, University Professor, constitutional law scholar, and legal blogger at The Volokh Conspiracy
  • Francis H. Buckley, George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law
  • Henry N. Butler, Henry G. Manne Chair in Law and Economics, director of Law & Economics Center and former dean
  • Ernest W. DuBester, member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority
  • Douglas H. Ginsburg, Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and former U.S. Supreme Court nominee
  • Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court
  • Timothy J. Muris, George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law, former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
  • Joshua D. Wright, University Professor, executive director of the Global Antitrust Institute, former FTC commissioner
  • Todd J. Zywicki, George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law

References
  1. "George Mason University". Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  2. Name change to Antonin Scalia School of Law: Name change to Antonin Scalia Law School:
  3. "2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Law Schools". Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  4. "2021 ABA Standard 509 Information Report" (PDF). Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  5. "Profile of the Fall 2023 Entering Class". Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  6. "VBBE - Exam - Statistics". barexam.virginia.gov. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  7. Bonica, Adam; Chilton, Adam; Rozema, Kyle; Sen, Maya (January 2018). "The Legal Academy's Ideological Uniformity" (PDF). The Journal of Legal Studies. 47 (1): 13–14. doi:10.1086/698435. ISSN 0047-2530. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  8. Barakat, Matthew (August 31, 2019). "'Conservative' String Attached to $50 Million Gift to George Mason University". NBC4 Washington. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  9. "Board Backs School Merger". The Evening Star. January 9, 1979.
  10. "Antioch a new law approach". The Evening Star. November 6, 1972.
  11. "Before We Became Part of the Mason Family: The Story of the International School of Law". Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  12. "Las School Affiliation". The Evening Star. March 1, 1978.
  13. Beck, Jody; Smith, Rodney (March 3, 1979). "Dalton Expected to Avoid Veto Battle With Legislature". The Evening Star.
  14. Evans, Ross (November 8, 1978). "Council Denies George Mason a Law School". The Evening Star.
  15. Kohn, D'Vera (November 4, 1984). "New Dean Brings Upheaval to Mason Law School". Washington Post. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  16. "Mason soars in national rankings". George Mason University. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  17. Stripling, Jack; Gluckman, Nell (December 18, 2019). "To Court a Secretive Donor, Law Deans at George Mason Blasted Climate Scientists and Their Own Accreditor". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  18. Chappell, Bill (April 6, 2016). "Plan For Antonin Scalia School Of Law Is Tweaked Over Unfortunate Acronym". Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018 – via www.npr.com.
  19. Svrluga, Susan (March 31, 2016). "George Mason law school to be renamed the Antonin Scalia School of Law". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  20. Svrluga, Susan (May 17, 2016). "It's official: George Mason's law school is named in honor of Antonin Scalia". Archived from the original on May 19, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2016 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  21. Kroll, Andy; Elliott, Justin; Perez, Andrew. "How a Billionaire's "Attack Philanthropy" Secretly Funded Climate Denialism and Right-Wing Causes". propublica.org. ProPublica. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  22. "2023 Best Law Schools". Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  23. "Tuition and Costs". Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  24. "George Mason Law Review - Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University". George Mason Law Review. Archived from the original on January 14, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  25. "Civil Rights Law Journal". Archived from the original on August 27, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  26. "George Mason International Law Journal". Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  27. "National Security Law Journal – Insightful scholarship advancing the exciting, evolving field of national security law". www.nslj.org. Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  28. "The Journal of Law, Economics & Policy – The online home of the Journal of Law, Economics & Policy". www.jlep.net. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  29. "Borrowing from Other Libraries". www.law.gmu.edu. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  30. "About the Library". www.law.gmu.edu. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  31. "Staff Directory". www.law.gmu.edu. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  32. "About the Library | Antonin Scalia Law School". www.law.gmu.edu. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  33. "A polarizing name change at George Mason". Washington Post. May 7, 2016. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  34. "Scalia Law School Changes Name Over NSFW Acronym". NBC News. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  35. Eder, Steve; Becker, Jo (April 30, 2023). "How Scalia Law School Became a Key Friend of the Court". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  36. Dayen, David (September 19, 2018). "Koch-Funded Think Tank Linked to George Mason University Is Now Pretending It's Not Part of George Mason University". The Intercept. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  37. Schwartz, Brian (November 18, 2021). "Trump ally's fund received over $20 million last year, then funneled cash to other right-leaning groups". CNBC. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  38. Schwartz, Brian (November 18, 2021). "Trump ally's fund received over $20 million last year, then funneled cash to other right-leaning groups". CNBC. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  39. Getahun, Hannah (April 30, 2023). "Scalia Law is a haven for conservative SCOTUS justices: NYT". Business Insider. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  40. "George Mason's Scalia Law School is a generous employer for Supreme Court justices, records show". The Week. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  41. Eder, Steve; Becker, Jo (April 30, 2023). "How Scalia Law School Became a Key Friend of the Court". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  42. "Antonin Scalia Law School moved up in rankings after it cultivated ties with Supreme Court justices". ABA Journal. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  43. "National Security Institute". National Security Institute. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  44. "Overview – Global Antitrust Institute". gai.gmu.edu. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  45. "One Tech-Funded University Helped Shape FTC's Hands-Off Approach". Bloomberg.com. March 12, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  46. Wakabayashi, Daisuke (July 24, 2020). "Big Tech Funds a Think Tank Pushing for Fewer Rules. For Big Tech". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  47. "How Google worked behind the scenes to invite federal regulators to conferences". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
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